Guns & Vampires Short Story
by ChiekoKawabe
Summary: Jessica is a simple girl in the time where slavery is illegal. This is a short story about how she is freed, and how she learns the mysteries of the night.


In my 1960s summer dress, I walked down the old dirtroad, basket of apples in hand. The day was coming to an end, and night was approaching fast. If I were to get the job done, I'd have to do it quick... unless I wanted to be shot. I heaved out a sigh and hoisted the basket up higher, trying to get a good hold of it. I kept on walking down this dirt road until I met a small house. I didn't go inside, but I picked apples off the trees around it.

As I turned to face the worn-down-looking house, I saw a creature darting past. I blinked and looked up once more. No one was there. I tried to shake the image out of my head, but it wouldn't go away, so I focused on my apple picking. "Times sure are getting creepy," I commented to myself.

One of the apples in my hand dropped to the ground, thudding on the dry by soft grass. I knelt down to pick it up, but a man, maybe three years older, was already picking it up.

I jumped back and nearly fell to the ground. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Just strolling by," he spoke gently, grabbing my hand and pulling me forward.

I balanced out as he planned. I coughed a few times, dusting my dress off. My frail body hurt a little from all the work Mr. James had been making us do lately. Straightening my posture, I dared to ask, "What made you help a sad thing like me, Sir?"

For a moment, I thought I saw a smile, or maybe even a smirk, cross his features. When I blinked though, I saw that I was only seeing things. "Maybe I should get my eyes checked..."

I started to count the apples in my basket. My goal was one-hundred apples for dinner. Mr. James would definitely take no less or more. After finishing, I discovered I had just one too many.

I knew I had to get rid of it, because if Mr. James were to figure out that I had ate, he'd shoot me, and if I didn't give him the exact amount he asked for, he'd still shoot me. But then it hit me. "Sir, would you--"

I looked around and, to my surprise, no one was there. I laughed. "I guess it was just an illusion." I dropped the worst-looking apple in my basket to the grass and began walking back down the dirtroad. After I handed my business with the master, I went to sleep soundly.

The next morning, I was instructed to bring back one-hundred more apples. So I walked the dirtroad again, this time it being so early in the morning that it was still dark. Master attended this trip with me.

I stayed on my toes, executing my plan thoroughly. If I picked one-hundred fine-looking apples in a short amount of time, maybe he wouldn't...

"Get out of your damn Lala Land and get to pickin'. I ain't got all day, now," he barked at me. His temper was shorter than usual today.

I picked the apples without much thought and counted as I went. I had picked seven so far.

It seemed that everyone was ordered to pick apples today. Was there some kind of banquet? I glanced around, and saw someone secretly resting. While Mr. James seemed busy, I threw an apple at the guy's head. I pretended to be picking apples as I whispered a warning, "He'll kill you if you slack off!"

I grabbed yet another apple and stepped over the man, continuing my picking. I wandered over to the next tree, and heard a gunshot. I covered my head with my arms, falling to the ground and kneeling there. I had a real fear of those things, 'cause Master James was always pointing it at me.

When I realized I wasn't dead, I looked over to where the man was. I saw a bloody sight, and turned my head away immediately. Tears started to stream down my eyes, and I ignored it. I went on picking up the apples that had fallen out of the basket.

A few hours passed and the sun came up. Just as I'd picked my hundredth apple, I walked down the dirtroad and tripped. I landed on my face, basket still in hand.

"Little good for nothing..." James cocked his gun and stepped in range of me. He pointed his gun, and I jumped up, running towards the house. The door was locked, I discovered; I resorted to running behind it.

Master was still chasing me, I realized. This was no time for games. I didn't want to die, so I kept running. I was breathing hard. My body was too frail for this. And then I heard a shot...

Slowly, I creeped around the corner of the house. When I got a small view, James was on the ground, bleeding. A man stood over him, and I realized it was the same man who helped me yesterday. Although his familiarty made me somewhat happy, I didn't dare step out. I crouched behind the house, my back firmly against its rough panels.

I felt something grip my throat, and I turned quickly to look up. Something from the window grabbed my throat... but retreated...

A scream left my mouth as I saw the face of the monster. Teeth like canines and a cold, piercing glare mixed with hunger. Just as I was running, I crashed straight into someone. I stared up, tears overwhelming my eyes. Through blurriness, I saw the guy who helped me.

He wiped my eyes and put his hands around my side, walking forward as if to help me make my way back home.

Home. To be honest, I'd lived my whole life as James' underage housewife. He owned a few people, including myself. I was only sixteen or seventeen; he never made that clear to me. Apparently, though, my mom was no longer alive and my father died many eyars ago. But the point was that even though owning people was illegal now, James didn't care. He kept on owning people for as long as he wished.

"My name is Luis. What's yours?" the man asked me. His gaze lay ahead, and he never looked at me once since seeing me cry. The dirtroad felt like it dragged on forever.

I cleared my cloudy thoughts. "My name is Jessica."

He said not another word until we reached my "home."

"I will be back later... I have things to do for now. Stay alive," he ordered, leaving me there.

I watched him walk away and sighed. "So this is how it is going to be...?" Then, I blinked. In all this craziness, I had left the basket of apples back home. But it didn't matter; he was dead now.

I sat down on my bed, then quickly fell asleep. My dreams were bloody and scary, but that really was no different than usual.

When I awoke, Luis was standing over me. He was somewhat leaned over. I could really see what he was doing. "Luis, what are you--"

I felt his fangs pierce the skin of my neck. I let out a sharp cry, gripping the bedsheets, trying to get him to stop. I couldn't bring myself to push him, though, and he stopped soon after he started.

"I'm sorry... I have no intention of killing you, but when I saw how fragile you were..." his sentence faded shortly. He sat next to me, his head in his hands.

I felt weak for a few moments, but I started to have bursts of energy flowing through my body.

After that incident, we met frequently. I was strangely attracted to him; his presence made me happy. Some days we'd spend our time picking apples, others he'd explain his 'kind' to me. I found out that he did this for my sake--as a human, I was weak, but as a vampire, I could run miles in seconds without even getting tired. I grew paler, but it didn't bother me much.

After about a month, I asked him during one of our apple-picking trips, "What made you help me, Luis?" I paused my actions and took my time, staring at him. I was kneeling down at a tree, a basket in hand.

He seemed troubled. "One of the reasons... was... that painful expression you had when I first met you. You seemed sad," he slowly spoke to me, then carried on, "And when you ran, I saw my mother. She was just like you. Illegally owned. The only difference was that I couldn't save her."

I gave him a reassuring smile and picked up a healthy apple. I stepped to the house that I had previously hid behind before. Turning on the water outside, it gushed out quickly, much to my surprise. I rinsed off the apples in my basket, then turned it off. I walked back over to Luis and gave him one. He ate him greedily.

I ate my own, of course, and sat under a freshly bloomed tree. Luis sat next to me, and I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Jessica?" he asked me warilly.

I glanced up at him. "Yes?"

He bit his lip and stayed quiet for a few seconds, then continued with what he had to say, "I think I love you." He turned his gaze away from me.

I blinked. "Can you say that again?"

He snarled and repeated himself, this time his face turning red.

"Louder."

"I love you!" he yelled, his voice so loud that the pigeons on the house broke into flight. The crickets chirped and all was silent.

I leaned up, kissing his cheek and smiling. "I... love you too."

He grabbed my hand, turning to face me and catching my lips. We kissed passionately for what seemed like minutes, but in reality was only seconds. The sun began to set and we watched it go down slowly.

This was the beginning of my adventure.


End file.
